Skirmish
by Carnal Coffee Bean Catastrophe
Summary: -A collection of one-shots on Lily Evans, James Potter, and the sparks hidden within.
1. Of Shades Of Green

Lily Evans, honored and noble prefect and brightest witch in her class, stared, unbelieving, at the mirror. Reflecting back at her were vibrant green eyes, at the moment wide with astonishment, a rosy pink mouth more accustomed to impish grins than the current position of dangling loosely open, and… "Green hair," she whispered to herself. "Green. Effing. Hair." Her lustrous locks, normally an eye-catching shade of wine-red, had somehow managed to turn a shocking verdant green. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her subconscious registered that the shade complimented her eyes nicely, but that was all it got in before- "JAMES POTTER!" she tore out the bathroom, through the door to the Fifth Year Girl's Dormitory, and rampaged down the staircase, searching for the Marauder most likely responsible.

James Potter, purveyor of green hair dye and rejected-but-still-hoping suitor of one Lily Evans, propped his face against his hand as he shoveled food into his mouth. Remus and Sirius lounged in similar positions- careless in manners, but efficient in food-to-mouth shoveling. Peter scurried down between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, throwing his bag down and landing next to James with a huff. "I haven't missed it, have I?" he wheezed, trying to catch his breath and swipe the remaining suds off his left ear at the same time. "Calm down, Wormy, you haven't missed anything but Sirius' bad jokes, and we all could stand to miss those," Remus answered. "Hey!" Sirius started to protest in what would surely have been quite a good comeback, but was cut off by a chorus of "shhh"s as the ever-gossip-hungry hall grew silent.

A small green-haired figure clad in nothing but an oversized t-shirt stalked through the doors to the Great Hall and bore down on the Gryffindor table with alarming speed. Lily marched up the aisle, quickly clearing the space between her and James of any fellow students. James watched her progress almost lazily, humor glinting in his hazel eyes. "Alright, Evans?," he called as she neared him. "YOU!" she shrieked, pointing her finger at him and waving it viciously. "NO, Potter, I am NOT alright," she panted, storming up the remaining few steps between them and violently poking him in the chest. "How do you get this stuff off? I've tried everything!" she raged, fists waving in the air. "Haven't the foggiest what you're on about, Evans. Nice hair, though- really goes with your eyes," he snickered. "You half-breed idiot- haven't brains to fill an acorn cup- mother must've dropped…" James zoned out as she continued to mock, degrade, and insult him, used to it by now. She's thrown in some new ones, he mused, but his attention was mainly focused on the way her legs were accentuated by the height of the tee shirt, and imagining how she would look in one of his tee-shirts- maybe his Quidditch jersey- "Huh?" He was jerked out of his doze as she awaited the reply to a question apparently asked sometime in the last five minutes, looking at him questioningly yet still murderously- How does she DO that, he wondered. She sighed, grabbed him by the tie, and pulled him in close- he unconsciously licked his lips, as slightly shocked hazel eyes locked onto murderous green ones. "You listen, Potter, and you listen good," she hissed. "I know you did this- I don't know how, I don't know why, but you did. You will tell me how to get this dratted stuff out, and you will tell me now." She leaned back, eyes glinting viciously. "Or I'll have to take Drastic Measures," she glared. Potter, wondering halfheartedly how she had managed to imbue spoken words with capitalization powers- another hidden talent of his Lily-flower, he mused-, held his hands up in defeat. "Ok, ok, Evans, you got me." He admitted, the picture of meek submission. "But," he glanced up mischievously from behind messy brown bangs, "I'm not telling you the antidote," he paused dramatically-"WHAT?" came the incensed reply- "unless you kiss me", he finished, full-out grinning. Beyond words, Lily shrieked at him, then whirled away to find McGonagall, who would surely set her hair back. "By the way," the teasing voice continued, "nice robes, Evans." Lily looked down, confused, then stood stock-still; she had forgotten to change from her nightclothes in her quest to find Potter and rip him to shreds. Calmly, she turned on her heel, marched back to Potter, grabbed his tie again- very useful, those things were turning out to be-, pulled him down to her level, and whispered, "Mark my words, Potter- You. Will. Pay. For. This." She released him and stalked out of the Great Hall, head held high, as James sat down on the wooden bench dazedly.

"Man…" he sighed. Remus leaned across the table. "She's really going to kill you now, James. She had that look in her eye," he warned. "You got her good and mad. You don't want to get women mad at you like that- it gets ugly real quick." James sighed again, lost in thoughts of Lily. "Yeah, but did you see how close she was? I could've reached out and kissed her," he mooned, ever the lovesick swain. "Don't think shed've taken it well," sniggered Sirius. "Well, yeah, but…" James trailed off. The three looked at each other and shook their heads. "Hopeless," Sirius good-naturedly shook his head. Remus murmured thoughtfully, "But, you know, guys, that shade of green really did compliment her eyes…" The other three looked at him, disbelieving, then roared with laughter and, with no further interruptions, continued their breakfast routine of taunts, bickering, and food.


	2. Late

As the clock struck 4:30 a.m., the portrait swung open, and haggard, exhausted, and invisibility-cloaked James Potter stumbled into the Gryffindor Common Room. He had just spent all night making sure Moony's wolfy alter-ego hadn't hurt or maimed anyone on his monthly midnight romp; normally, it wasn't too much of a problem, but this time, he shuddered, there had been a few more close calls than even he cared for. James had sent Sirius back after a few hours of waiting around, claiming someone should get some sleep that night. That had been a grand mistake, he sighed. As a result, he'd dealt with the worst transformation they'd ever come up against all on his own. He'd be able to joke about it after a few hours of sleep, but now, he reflected as he headed across the room, all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and forget the whole night had ever happened.

The sound of someone stirring by the fireplace had him freezing in his tracks. He crept cautiously towards the couch, wand at the ready. He peered over to find a tiny red-headed figure sprawled out on the floor sleeping, nearly hidden by the mounds of books piled around her. He watched her for a few minutes, smiling at the look of childlike peace on her face, then turned and started to back away; just then, the cloak caught on the edge of the carpet, slipping off and tangling around his legs. "Oh, shi-" he started, then was cut off as he landed unceremoniously, a pile of tangled limbs. "-t!" He finished. Grimacing, he started to pull himself up off the floor.

Lily's eyes flew open at the sound. She scrambled for her wand and stood up, neatly stacked books, quills, and parchment toppling left and right. "What are you-" she started in a loud, imperious voice, but stopped as she recognized the intruder. "Oh, it's you, Potter," she sighed, then glanced at the clock. "Wha- it's 4:30! What are you doing up this late?"

"I could ask the same of you, Evans," he replied.

"I was studying."

"No, _you_ were sleeping."

"Studying."

"Sleeping."

"Studying."

"Sleeping."

"Potter!"

He grinned archly. "Yes, Evans?" She glared, arms firmly crossed. "You know, I can do that, too," he said, mimicking her position. "Well, congratulations, Potter. That puts you on the level of a four-year-old," she shot back. "Nah, I'd say at least a five-year-old," he replied, noticing as he talked how tired she looked- bags under her eyes, dejected frown on her face, the way every atom of her body, though wound tight as a spring, seemed to sag inextricably down towards the floor. "Geez, Evans, you look like shit. You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she sighed, starting to pick up her belongings from where they landed on the floor. "Just a little tired is all."

"Any particular reason?" he asked as he handed her an arithmancy book- Merlin, that thing is heavy, he thought. She lugs that thing around?

"Just some drama, so I couldn't get any homework done before midnight. Then I got a letter from home," she replied, taking the book and stuffing it into her bag.

"Oh," James commented. He knew all about Lily and letters from home, though he'd never actually seen one. She was always in a worse mood for a few days after getting them, though she'd try to hide it. He could tell, though, when she got one- her aim improved greatly, and she threw decidedly heavier objects at him with actual force, instead of chucking whatever happened to be handy. He hated them almost as much as she seemed to.

"Yeah, it's just…" she trailed off, then glanced sideways at him. "So then I decided to come down here and do some homework," she finished in a business-like tone.

"Hm," James commented, handing her the last of the books and getting to his feet. He offered her his hand, but she ignored it and pushed herself off the ground. They stood in silence for a few seconds as James examined her, face inscrutable.

"Well, anyways," she tried to break the heavy silence.

He ignored it, lost in thought. Then, "Do you ever let anyone hold you, Evans?"

"What?" she looked up at him, surprised.

"Well, seems you do a lot of holding everyone else up. All the insane Sixth Year girls you live with, the younger kids who look up to you, your family- I'm just guessing on that last one," he added hastily, worried by the look on her face. "I'm just wondering- when was the last time anyone held you?"

She bit her lip. "I… I don't know. I mean, it's not that big a deal," she babbled, looking everywhere but him, and so unaware of James moving towards her. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of-" she stopped as James grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "Potter, what-" she started, but, "Shut up, Evans," James rolled his eyes. "It's a hug. You need one," he stated simply as he tucked her head under his chin and smoothed her hair down. Lily stood stiffly for a few seconds before, "I'm not going to bite you, Evans." James sighed. "You can relax, it's alright to do that around me". "Coulda fooled me," she muttered, but she lowered her head onto his chest and leaned slightly into his embrace. It took a few moments, but slowly she melted against him, eyes closed against sudden, inexplicable tears. They stood that way in silence, her head tucked under his chin, one of James' arms curled tightly around her, and the other hand lazily drawing circles on her back.

A sudden noise startled them apart, alarmed- it took a second before they realized it was the chiming of the clock. "Five a.m." James announced with a tired half-smile. "Is it really that late? I should be waking up in half an hour." Lily yawned.

"Five- thirty? What the heck is there that needs doing at five-frickin'-thirty a.m.?"

Lily smiled. "I run."

"Oh." The image of Lily in running shorts danced before his eyes. Suddenly, five-thirty seemed a perfectly reasonable time to be getting up- the team's Quidditch game would certainly improve if they had a few more hours of practice a week… "What days do you run?"

"Every day."

Well, every day wasn't so bad… Sure, the team would complain, but it'd be good for them, build character-

"Well, I'm headed up to bed", Lily yawned again. "Good night… James", she added tentatively.

"What?" James was shaken out of his haze. Lily colored. "Nothing," she bit her lip and looked down at her feet, the picture of nervousness.

"Nu-uh, none of that- you said James," a slow smile spread across his face.

"Well, yeah, don't let it go to your head, I just-"

"Lily."

"What?" she turned toward him, still staring at her shoes. He chuckled to himself- she was absolutely adorable when she was embarrassed.

"Thanks."

He turned, and was almost out of hearing range when the whisper floated into his ears- "Thanks, James." He shifted to look back at her, but she was already up the stairs and out of sight. He turned back, silly smile firmly in place as he headed towards his warm bed, where dreams of red-heads in running shorts and half-heard whispers awaited.


	3. The Joy of Hangovers

"Shh!"

"You'll wake her up!"

"No, _you'll_ wake her up!"

"James, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Man, James, I didn't know she got _that_ wasted…"

"She didn't! I just didn't want to leave her alone in the common room! Who knows what would've happened if she'd stayed there!"

"Yeah, she'd have slept it off and gone back to her dormitory in the morning. Fraught with danger there, mate."

"But what if something had happened?"

"Like what?"

"Like… anything! I don't know! Someone trying to kidnap her, or something!"

"Yeah, close call, James. She's not in a strange person's room without her choosing to be right now or anything."

"This is different!"

"How?"

A pained groan from behind the velvet draperies quickly silenced the boys' whispered argument. After a few seconds, though,…

"Was that her?" Peter whispered, looking close to wetting himself in fear.

"…I think so," replied James, staring intently at the curtains and wondering if going in would be more advisable than staying out at this point.

"I didn't know girls could make that sort of sound," Remus stated, eyebrows raised.

"Well, yeah," snickered Sirius. "It's not like you know what sounds they make normally, nerd."

The ensuing scuffle halted abruptly with a flutter of the red curtains around James' bed. Pale as a ghost, hair sticking every which way, eyes bloodshot, and generally looking like death, the face of Lily Evans peered out blearily at the room full of Sixth Year Gryffindors. She froze, eyes widened. The boys waited anxiously to see what she would do. Then,

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Peter and Sirius shrieked right back at her, then dove for the door. Peter promptly tripped over the landing after wrestling with the doorknob, sending both him and Sirius tumbling down the stairs.

James and Remus remained in the room, but only through force of sheer will. Plastered onto the opposite wall, hands firmly over their ears, they prayed for the onslaught to end. They didn't have to wait long, as Lily grabbed her head with her hands and silenced suddenly, her impressive banshee imitations reduced to pitiful whimpers. She drew back her head into the relative safety of the curtains and pulled them closed, still whimpering. James looked at Remus.

"All yours, mate," Remus responded. "I'm going down to breakfast." And with that, he turned and walked down the stairs- or, at least, he would've, if James hadn't tackled him and held him to the floor.

"James!" Remus hissed, struggling to free himself, but the black-haired hellion held fast. "PleasepleasePLEASE, Remus, I'll never ask for anything again! I promise! She'll kill me!" he whispered frantically, eyes wide with fear. Remus glanced over at the curtains.

"Yeah, because she looks so threatening now…" He looked back at James, who was doing his best impersonation of Sirius' puppy-dog eyes. "Doesn't work on me, man," he stated. Against a backdrop of James' "please" chants, Remus heaved James off of himself, stood wearily to his feet, and grumbled, "Fine, fine. I'll stay." He watched amusedly as James broke into a silent but nonetheless joyful jig. "But I'm not doing it for you. I'm going to tell Lily what happened, then I'm leaving." He fixed James with a pointed glare. "That's _all_."

The curtains rustled again, and the boys watched them warily, terrified of a repeat performance. This time, however, the sound from the red-headed sufferer within was minimal. James and Remus glanced at each other, braced themselves, and approached the bed cautiously. "Evans?" James called softly. "Evans, you alright?" A miserable moan answered him as they reached the bed. "Evans?" James pulled back the curtains. Lily was curled into a tight ball on top of the sheets, arms cradling her head as if to keep it from exploding, emitting whimpers of pain every so often. "Man, Evans…," he chuckled lightly as he sat down on the bed next to her. "You sure know how to party. Wouldn't have thought you had it in you, Miss Prefect." Lily lifted her head ever so slightly and glared in response. James drew back, secretly (though he wouldn't ever admit it) frightened- the bloodshot eyes gave her glares more Potter-killing power than usual.

"Potter," she whispered, voice cracking, "what the _hell_ am I doing in the Sixth Year _BOYS'_ dorms?"

"Well, you see, Lily,-"

"_What_ have I told you about my name, Potter?" she glared again, and he shrank back- how could they have grown more potent in a few seconds' time?

"Um… that it's a nice one?"

"No, Potter. To you, it's Evans. Not Lily, not Lily-flower, not Lily-kins," she paused, and her glare grew, if possible, more terrifying, "_NOT_ Lily-wife. It's Evans, Potter. Only Evans." He waited, but she seemed to be done.

"So… do you want to know what happened?"

Lily sighed. "Yes, Potter, that'd be nice."

"Well, you see, you were drinking a lot last night, and I was kind of worried about you, but I couldn't really do anything, and then you kind of fell asleep in the common room, and none of the girls were strong enough to get you up the stairs without dragging you, and I would've gotten you up to your own dorm, honest, but the stairs don't allow guys up to the girls' dorms-"

"Doesn't stop you when you knick stuff from our dorms any other time," she interrupted, expression irritated but not, thankfully, murderous.

"Well, yeah, but-" James cut off, mind racing for a plausible explanation_. I'm not normally the one who steals stuff, since my antlers won't fit through the stairwell? You'd squash Pete? Sirius typically objects to saddles? We-_

"The spell we typically use is very tricky, and none of us were sober enough to try it- bad side effects if you get it wrong," a voice cut in on James' thoughts. Remus walked over to James' bed, sitting on the other side of the ball-o'-pain that was, at the moment, Lily Evans. "Results in decapitation if you get one syllable wrong. And we like our heads where they are." He finished, sending James a half-smile.

"Oh," said Lily. "So, instead of leaving me down in the common room to sleep it off, you brought me up here?"

"We thought it was kinder- would protect your image as a prefect and all," James soothed.

Lily snorted.

"Yeah, because me waking up in the Sixth Year Boy's Dorm is so much better…"

Remus stood up.

"Ok, so I'm headed to breakfast now," he announced. "See y'all later." And with that, he ambled out the doors, leaving a not-completely-incapable-but-close-to-it James to deal with one extremely hung-over Lily Evans.

Lily's expression, half-hidden under her arm, suddenly turned to one of horror.

"Potter, where did you sleep?"

"Huh?" responded Potter, caught a bit off-guard by the random question.

"Potter. Where. Did. You. Sleep?" she bit off the end of each word, sitting up to glare at him fully.

"Uh… on the floor."

"On the floor?"

"Yeah, you know that thing we walk on? Normally found in buildings, not so much outside? You occasionally trip over it?"

Lily shot an exasperated look at him.

James caught her shoulders and turned her gently. "Right there, Lily," he breathed softly, pointing to a messy heap of blankets and pillows. "On the floor. You want forensic evidence or something?"

"No, you're good," she sighed. "I believe you." He grinned behind her back. And score _ONE_ for Potter!

She turned back to look at him, and he immediately forced his face into a neutral expression.

"You got a bowl, Potter?"

He rummaged at the bottom of his bed, then held up a shoe.

"Will this work?" He reconsidered immediately, his inner monologue already mocking him- _a shoe, Potter? Really? Why not just wear a sign saying, "I am hopeless"?-_, but she grabbed it from his hand, mischievous grin lighting up her features and making her look half-human again.

"That'll do fine, Potter…" and with that, she vomited into his shoe.

"_Gah!_" he exclaimed as she heaved again, and one of his prized Quidditch cleats- _his first pair- irreplaceable- sentimental value-how could she-_ his aghast mind stammered out- was horribly, violently disfigured beyond repair.

"Problem, Potter?" she choked out, as he scrambled for something- anything- else that she could use to throw up in.

"Here!" he shouted, and thrust a medium-sized cauldron that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in weeks into her trembling hands. She eyed it, sighed, tossed the shoe in the bottom and bent over the lip. James unfroze from his position of shock and horror and moved behind her. With one hand, he held her hair away from the cauldron, and rubbed the other in soothing circles on her back. "That's the stuff, get it over with," he encouraged. She tried to turn around- no doubt to shoot him another look- but he held her facing forward. "Just get it all out, and then you can glare at me all you want after," he murmured, and thought he heard her chuckle a bit before retching yet again.

After a few moments, she stopped heaving and trembling, and James thought it best to make sure she hadn't gone to sleep. "Evans?" he asked gently, touching her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm alright," came the hoarse reply. "I think it's all out."

"You can clean up if you want to," James offered, unsure of what else to do. "The bathroom's right through there, and-"

"Clothes?" Lily interjected.

"You can borrow some of mine." He replied, cheering inwardly- he'd get to see her in his Quidditch jersey!

"Fine," she sighed. He waited for a few seconds, then asked tentatively, "Lily?" It was a mark of how worn-out and pained she was that she didn't comment on his usage of her first name, but instead sighed and replied,

"You're going to have to help me up." James turned Lily around and examined her face.

"One sec," he said, then hurried off to the bathroom in search of a clean towel to wet. Lily sighed and fell back against the pillows- it really was quite comfy, she thought absent-mindedly. In seconds, she was asleep.

James returned with the towel to find Lily sleeping peacefully. As gently as he could, he toweled her face off, getting as much of the mess as he could, but the clothes were unsalvageable. He watched her for a moment, gaze softening as he took in the sight. _Of the girl who murdered your cleat, _his mind added spitefully. He ignored it. Lily stirred, then opened her eyes. James started, then babbled, "I brought you clothes if you didn't want to move or anything- they're right here if you want them. I just thought those might be uncomfortable to sleep in, they're a little messy, so-" he cut off as she touched his arm.

"Thanks, Potter," she smiled. They sat, looking at each other for a moment.

"Well," James started, mouth slightly dry, "I'll leave you to it, then. If you want to nap or anything, or just hang out, I've made sure none of the guys come back for the rest of the day, so…" he shut the curtains behind him, and, not knowing what to do, sat on Sirius' bed and waited, hearing the rustle of clothing being taken off and wishing more than anything that he were that damned towel, or, better, holding it…

"I'm sorry you had to see me this way," came the voice from beyond the curtains, and James jumped.

"Ah… no problem," he chuckled. "At least you didn't do anything crazy while you were drunk. Apparently, my first time I was drunk, I told some poor third year I loved her, then puked all over her. Don't remember a damn thing." The rustling stopped, and Lily's head peaked out, staring at James incredulously.

"Really?"

"Yup," James laughed, feeling more confident. "Poor thing, don't even remember her name-"

"No", Lily motioned impatiently with her hand. "You don't remember? Anything?"

"Uh… no?" James guessed, feeling suddenly ill-at-ease. Silence, as Lily ducked back in the curtains. Then,

"You don't know who she was?"

"Um…." James started, frantically racking his brain for a face, a name, a reference, anything. The curtains sighed, then parted to reveal a much-cleaner Lily. James felt another stab of jealousy for the stupid towel.

"I was that girl, Potter."

_OH, SHIT._

"Well, um, see, I was _really_ drunk that night, Evans- don't even remember-" Lily cut him off.

"It doesn't matter now, Potter. That was ages ago." She grinned. "Besides, I just got even with you." James stared at her, confused. "You puked down the front of my favorite dress. I puked on your lucky Quidditch shoe." She shrugged.

"You- wha- you _KNEW_?" he gasped, leaping off the bed and staring wide-eyed at her. She laughed in return, and he sighed, sitting back down beside her. "It was more _in_ than _on_," he muttered, listening to her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah," she giggled, leaning against him. James froze, stunned, but only for a second; then he moved his hands so that they were braced behind him. Lily leaned in a little more, snuggling into his arm. James forgot how to breathe.

"How do you do that?" she inquired sleepily.

"Do what?" He asked, more interested in remembering how to breathe- oh, there it was! His lungs started up again. – than in the question.

"You always catch me at exactly the wrong time. It's really annoying," she yawned. He frowned, confused.

"Like how?"

"Like this whole thing." She gestured to the cauldron. "Or, you always make me lose my cool, or- or just, when bad things happen, and I'm not composed, you're always frickin' there. Of course, you're normally the one causing it," she grumbled, and he bit back a laugh at the grumpy expression on her face.

"That might be why, Evans," he conceded.

"But how? Do you have an Evans-sense or something?"

He thought for a moment, planning his next words carefully- in any other conversation with Evans, they would've been his last words. Heck, in any other conversation with Evans, ten minutes ago would've been his last words. He sighed.

"I like catching you off-guard." He adjusted his glasses. "Seeing Miss Perfect all the time gets a little boring- and it's gotta get boring for you to be her."

She frowned. "Well, I'm sorry my normal personality bothers you, Potter," she said, and if she hadn't been so dang sleepy, she would have put more effort into sounding offended. She came off instead as generally annoyed; not what she intended at all. "It's who I am."

"Nope." He popped his lips on the "p". "This is you. She's just a front."

Under any other circumstances, Lily would have been horrified with the turn of the conversation- not to mention how close Potter had come to the truth. But she was far too tired to care, and his shirt was soft and nuzzly, so she shrugged into his shoulder and mumbled a soft "maybe" into Potter's shirt. James tilted his head and gazed in slight awe at the redhead currently burrowed into his shoulder. A snore emanated from the slight form, and James smiled. Evans getting drunk and hung-over, he decided as he pulled her closer to his chest, was the best occurrence of his sixteen years of life.

o.O.o

_A/N: So, this was slightly longer than I'm used to (I know, not really long at all. But it is for me!). Were they just way o.o.c.? Lily was hung-over, which was why she was being much, much, MUCH more open with James than she would've been, had she been her normal self. And James was toning himself back and watching what he said because of that fact. But I'm still worried about the o.o.c. factor. Does it seem realistic, for the situation? Or should I have included more of their normal personalities? Meh! This is what comes of the indecisive writer, peoples. Just so you know, the one-shot before this happened after this one. Currently, these are in no particular order. Once I have a few more, I might start re-ordering or organizing, so that it fits a general timeline. But, just so you know, this happens about October of their sixth year, and the last one is about a month after- so, November of their sixth year. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Thanks muchly for the reviews, and hope to see you again soon! Oh, and, as always, I own nothing Potter-verse-wise; it all belongs to JKR. _


	4. Ponderment

o.O.o

James Potter is pondering.

He does this occasionally, when the mood strikes him, and tonight, it has stricken him hard indeed. His preferred topic of ponderment, Lily Evans, happens to be the subject tonight. He wanders and ponders, hidden in his invisibility cloak, throughout the halls of Hogwarts. What is there to say about Lily Evans that hadn't already been said?, his thirteen-year-old mind wonders. He knows her. He likes to think he knows her quite well- in fact, better than anyone at school. He knows her best, and that's all there is to it. He knows her likes and dislikes, the way she crinkles her nose when she's studying, the look she gets when she abhors something (or someone), but is too polite to say it. He knows that she hates carrots and lavender, loves to read and write, loves people but occasionally wants time alone, and spends an inordinate amount of time in the library (and consequently not with him). He knows she is uncomfortable around most girls, but puts up with it, for the sake of those few that she loves. He knows she loves her family, but gets sad whenever siblings are mentioned (He doesn't know why that is. Yet.). He knows (from experience) that she doesn't think pranks are as hilarious as they really are, that she is kind-hearted, that she doesn't appreciate interruptions in class, and that she doesn't like being asked out more than once a day. He knows that she is the model student, a good arguer, the sharpest witch of her year (the prettiest and the bravest, too), and, aside from the fact that she spends way too much time with that Snivellus (he sticks out his tongue in distaste at this thought), she is altogether perfect. In fact, he continues as he opens the door to a classroom, intending to sit and ponder some more… his thoughts drop off.

Lily Evans, model student and shoo-in for prefect and, eventually, Head Girl, all-around perfect, quiet (but not _too_ quiet), peaceable, unassuming little Lily Evans stands in the middle of a deserted classroom, some sort of Muggle hard rock music blaring, air-guitaring whilst head-banging to the beat. James gazes, transfixed at the sight; the invisibility cloak slips to the ground as he watches her hair swing wildly- up and down, up and down… Her face twisted in concentration, she lifts the air-guitar up above her head and mimes smashing it down on the floor for the grand finale. Panting, she looks up and sees Potter staring, open-mouthed. She stops, frozen in her tracks, as the magically-adapted cassette player charges into another Muggle rock hit. The two stand, rooted to the spot at the sight of the other. The first to recover, Potter does what any mature thirteen-year-old wizard would do in the face of a potentially awkward situation- he grabs his cloak, turns tail, and runs out of the classroom. Once back under the safety of the invisibility cloak, he slows down, leans up against a wall, and sighs. Still struggling to steady his breathing from the encounter, Potter adjusts his glasses and realizes- maybe he doesn't know Lily Evans as well as he thought he did. Or, he grimaces, as music completely opposite to the Lily he knew blares in his memory, maybe he doesn't know her at all.

o.O.o

_A/N: Hey, guys! This one's been on my mind for a bit; the song I had in mind for Lily's listening pleasure was the good old 1973 classic "Smoke on the Water", by Deep Purple. I liked the idea of Lily as a sort of atypical hard-rocker- she kind of has a double-life, to me. One side is nice and sweet and kind and all that- all the things a model student should be- while the other side is more of a rebel. Also, I like that Lily has excellent taste in music. This happens during their Second Year, which I thought would be a good turning point for their relationship- where James stops seeing her as a perfect object, and starts seeing her as a person. It's a slow process- doesn't happen overnight, people; but it starts with this moment. Do you like it? Hate it? Think Lily's delicate ears would never have suffered the strong riffs and harsh beats of a band such as Deep Purple? Thanks for reading! And special thanks to my reviewers! Oh, and JKR owns Potter-verse. Carnal Coffee Bean Catastrophe owns nothing. Seeing as she is, in fact, a coffee bean, and as such, has no legal right to anything._


	5. Of Breakfasts and Beloveds

_A/N- This one-shot happens sometime in their Fourth or Fifth Year. JKR owns all Potter-verse- I own nothing!_

o.O.o

"Good morning, Evans," James smiled crookedly as he squeezed in next to Lily.

"You know, I was saving that seat for someone else," she replied, pointedly not looking at him and taking a bite of her scrambled eggs.

"Aw, Evans, too bad," he grinned, shoveling the bacon in front of him onto his plate. "Looks like you're stuck with me now."

"Or I could just move," she gritted her teeth and stood up.

"But you wouldn't, Evans," he answered, standing up as well and running his hand through his hair. "You like me too much to do that, even though you won't admit it."

"Oh, really?" she grabbed her bag and marched off, down towards the Ravenclaw table, where she was instantly welcomed and offered a seat. James sighed and turned towards the other Gryffindor girls.

"Sausage, anyone?" he asked brightly.

"You know what, Potter?"

"Oh, you're back," he stated, not bothering to turn around. "That didn't take too long."

"You are a pretentious, full-of-himself ball of slime who thinks the world revolves around him. You have the mental capacity of a flobberworm, to think that I have nothing better to do than sit and talk to you, that I would like to do nothing better-" she cut off sharply, swelling with righteous indignation.

"You know why you came back, Evans?" James asked nonchalantly, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"What?" she responded, confused at the sudden turn in conversation.

"I said, do you know why you came back?" Humor glinted behind the frame of his glasses.

She sighed. "Yes, Potter, I do, but please- tell me your insane theory. Does it involve house-elves this time? Secret conspiracy theories within the Ministry of Magic? Aurors? Vampires?" She plopped down on the seat beside him. "Please say it includes a rocketship to Mars. And a lion- I'd like a lion, as well," she added as an afterthought.

"One that talks or no?" James asked, momentarily distracted.

"I don't care, Potter, pick one," she snapped back.

"No." He adjusted his glasses. "No rocketships to Mars, I'm afraid, Evans. No lions, too- though you just gave me a brilliant idea for…" he glanced sideways at her. "Well, anyways, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint." He finished.

She propped her head up with one hand. "So what is it this time, Potter? Your insane theory as to why I came back." She waved her hand to gesture to the rest of the table. "We're all dying to hear."

James grinned. "Well, Miss Evans, the reason you came back is that you can't resist my charm and good looks. I'm just too much for you. The hair, the eyes, the body, the voice, the laugh, the banter…" he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "It's just no use trying to resist me, Evans," he murmured silkily, gaze intense. "I'm the man of your dreams."

She stared at him for a moment, then broke his gaze and closed her eyes. Triumphant, James was about to punch his fist in the air in celebration, when Lily started to laugh. And not just any laugh, either- James had never seen her laugh like this before. It was a roll-on-the-floor, tears-streaming-down-your-face, mouth-aching-from-smiling-so-hard, side-splitting, big, rolling belly laugh, and it was coming from the small redhead beside him. It took her ten whole minutes to calm down fully- she'd try to wind down, glance over at the bewildered James, and start over all again. Finally, when Lily's laughter had died down to the sporadic giggle and more-than-occasional hiccup, she ventured a glance at James.

"Could I- _hic-_ get that on-_hic, hic_- tape?" she asked, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

James smiled. It wasn't quite the reaction he'd wanted, but to make her laugh like that?

"Anytime."

o.O.o


	6. Print and Passageways

_A/N: This one takes place sometime during the third year, as James, Sirius, and Peter are researching how to become animagi. Nothing owned in Potter-verse by coffee beans, carnal, catastrophic, or otherwise! JKR has it all. *sigh*_

o.O.o

Lily Evans was perturbed.

She was in the library, headed for her favorite spot, when she had seen something that simply wasn't possible. James Potter was in the library. And, she was almost certain, not to play a prank or two, either. Instead, his head was bent over a book, his gaze running over the pages in front of him, almost as if he was actually… reading. This didn't sit well with Lily. James was not a library person- in fact, of the Marauders, he was the least likely library person there was. Remus she had seen a few times in the stacks, studying; Peter would come up to study occasionally as well. Sirius- well, Sirius, she wrinkled her nose, used the library for other, not entirely _sanitary_ activities. But James? She was certain- James would rather be pulled apart by hippogriffs than be found in the library, actually studying. Yet there he sat, black head bent over the book, hand continually pushing up his drooping glasses.

She had been watching him for about half an hour- which, she justified to herself, was perfectly acceptable; James Potter did _not_ go into the library without some mischief planned, and she was merely watching to head off any suspicious activity- when he turned around, looked right at her, and calmly asked,

"All right, Evans?"

She gingerly picked herself up from her hiding-place among the stacks of books on the floor, irritated both by the fact that he had found her, and the fact that _he was in the library._

"What are you doing here?" she responded, tone accusatory.

He gestured towards the book in front of him. "Reading," he smiled, tone light. "You do read, don't you, Evans?"

She grimaced. "Well, yeah, but… why?"

"What's the usual drivel they try to sell you again? It exands your horizons, broadens your mind, something like that?" he grinned. "I'm 'expanding my mind', Evans. You should try it sometime, it's great."

Against her better judgement, she sat down beside him, curious. "What book are you reading?" She reached for the book, but he pulled it away.

"Ah ah ah, Evans," he laughed softly. "This is my book. Go find your own."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm going to steal it, you stupid prat- I just want a look at the cover." She grabbed for the book again.

Again, he pushed it out of her reach. "Sorry, Evans, can't do it- official Marauder business and everything." He puffed out his chest proudly. "This is research."

She stared at him. "First time, isn't it?"

He grinned. "Researching? Yup." He looked so pleased with himself that she laughed.

"So what's the 'official Marauder business'?" she snickered. "Can't be anything too taxing, otherwise your brain might explode."

James looked at her evenly. "Can't tell you that, either, Evans. You'll just have to live in curiosity the rest of your life."

"Why not?"

"Do you not understand 'official Marauder business'?"

"Why isn't Remus up here?" Lily asked, abruptly switching tactics. "He'd be less conspicuous, of the four of you."

James shifted in his seat. "He had to go away for the weekend- grandmother's sick," he muttered, looking downward. "But how am I conspic-, conspic-, conspicu-whazamacallit?"

"Well," snorted Lily, "You're not exactly known for being in the library without a prank involved."

James stood up. "Speaking of which…" he grinned. "We might want to get out of the library in about five seconds." He grabbed her hand and ran for the back, pulling her along as explosions sounded, and the scent of dungbombs filled the air. "Back- here", he panted, and pulled back a faded tapestry. He shoved Lily behind it, then scrambled behind the fabric, dust swirling everywhere. He gazed at the wall, tapping several stones randomly and muttering, "Three-three-four-seven-six-four-two-seven- wanna go out with me, Evans?"

_SMACK._

"OW!"

"NO, YOU DOLT!"

"Ok, ok! Geez…" James shoved his glasses up his nose, tapped the last stone, and stood back as a secret passageway opened up in front of them. "Get in!"

Lily looked at him incredulously. "You can't really expect me to-"

"Filch'll catch us! Come on!" and with that, he grabbed Lily's hand and headed down the passageway. It was dark, dank, and thankfully short, ending behind another, matching tapestry Lily had never seen before, two floors up from the Gryffindor common room entrance. She gazed at it in wonderment as the black hole faded away into solid stone, then turned to James.

"You have to teach me that."

He groaned. "Of all the passageways you could have asked about, you ask for the one to the _library_?" he asked disbelievingly. She turned away and headed for the Gryffindor common room. "Yes," she replied breezily over her shoulder, then stopped. "Wait, what?" she turned around to look at James. "How many passageways are there?"

"Uh- none- well, that one, but- but, that's it! What other- who said- never mentioned," James muttered, face pale, running his hand through his hair rather nervously. She watched him, then broke out into a mischievous grin.

"That's ok, Potter, have your secrets." She leaned in and whispered, "I know the one to Honeydukes, though. And a few others…" She straightened, laughing, and headed towards the common room. James stared after her for a moment, then shook his head, as if to clear it, and ran after her.

"Oi, Evans!"

"Yeah, what?"

"You _sure _you don't want to go out with me? I know lots of passageways…"

_SMACK._

"_OWWWW! WOULD YOU STOP THAT?"_


	7. The Beauty of Snow

-Today, Lily Evans does not like snow.

-Normally, she loves the stuff- white, fluffy, crisp and Christmas-y and cold, clinging to her eyelashes and cheeks. The first snowfall of the year, she always goes out and lies on the ground, greeting the glorious winter weather, letting the snow kiss her face. But today is the Saturday before midterm examinations. And so today, Lily Evans being Lily Evans, is in the abandoned Gryffindor common room, poring over her books and trying to ignore the glorious, wonderful, mystical miracle that is _snow _gently falling outside the window. Of course, it's not helping that some of that snow is being packed into snowballs and magicked to rap on the common room windows for an interminable length of time. She's getting a headache, both from studying too hard and the stupid snowballs slamming against the window time after time after time, growing smaller and smaller until nothing is left but individual snowflakes, trying their absolute best to drive her bonkers by _plinki_ng as hard as they can against the glass. When one snowball dissolves, though, there's always another one right up, _thump_ing to add to the _plink_ing and the _tink_ing. After half an hour, she decides she's had enough, and marches over to the window. She throws the glass open and is immediately pelted with snowflakes, bits of not-quite-broken-up snowballs, and one huge snowball that apparently was just sent up. Lucky her.

"POTTER!" the voice screams across the school grounds.

James looks up from his current mission of creating another monster snowball. Lily is hanging out the window above him, looking very white, very cold, and very angry.

"Hey, Evans!" he grins casually, running his hand through his hair.

"Whoa, Snowbeast! Where'd you come from?" Beside him, Sirius laughs at the sight of Lily.

"What? Snowbeast?" Peter looks up from the igloo he and Remus are half-way finished. Sirius points. "_Gah!_ Snowbeast in the common room! Come on, guys! We have to-"

"Calm down, Pete," Remus soothes as he stands up, adding another perfect block of snow to the igloo. "There's no such thing as-" his voice trails off as he spies Lily. "Holy crap, snowbeast," he finishes. He and Peter look at each other, then start running for the common room.

"Protect the common room!" Peter shouts as he and Remus disappear inside the castle.

"So, Evans, wanna come down and play?" James smiles invitingly.

A slammed window is his response. He chuckles and turns back to snowball-making.

A few minutes later, Lily arrives at the school grounds, huffing, puffing, and in her jacket. _"POTTER!" _she bellows, and he waves his hand.

"Right here, darling," he calls.

"You- insufferable- I've never-" she marches over to him and sticks her wand in his face. "If you _ever_ do anything like that again, Potter, I'll hex you into oblivion."

"Anything like what?" he smiles and leans back against a snow-chair, clearly enjoying the confrontation.

"You know very well-" she looks at the snow-chair. "Is that a chair made of snow?" He nods. "You made a chair out of snow? You're too lazy to do half the work the teachers assign you in school, but you made a chair out of snow specifically so you could laze around in it?"

"Yup, sounds about right."

She throws her hands in the air. "Why didn't you just stay in the common room? There's armchairs there!"

"Not as much fun", he shrugs, then looks up at her, smirk on his face. "Why, Evans? Miss me that much?"

She scoffs. "As if that would ever happen."

"You never know. There are worse things."

She faces him, glaring, and enunciates clearly. "When. Pigs. Fly. Potter."

"Well, you know, there's this thing called magic, don't know if you've heard about it. It can make some pretty cool stuff happen, like, say, pigs flying… I'm pretty sure it's happened sometime in the past, Evans."

"It's a _cliché_, Potter."

"Well, it's a stupid one if it doesn't mean what it's supposed to."

"That's beside the point!" Lily frowns at him, frustrated.

"Then what is the point?"

"That I will never. Ever. _Ever._ Miss you."

"Oh, Lily," he groans, hand over his heart, the picture of exaggerated agony. "How could you be so cruel?"

_SPLAT._

Lily shrieks at the feel of the _wet coldcoldCOLD wet_ slowly slinking in rivulets down her hair and under her jacket. She turns around, eyes murderous, to find Sirius grinning a mile wide.

"You were being mean to James, Lily," he laughs. "Got to protect my best friend from evil villainesses like you, you know."

"Gee, Sirius, I'm impressed," she seethes, eyes on his throat. "Didn't know you knew the word _villainess_. They're going to have to promote you from first year now."

"Ooooh, tetchy," James laughs behind her. "Careful, Sirius, I think she's in a bad mood. Might be PM-" but he doesn't get to finish his thought, because she whirls around and tackles him back onto his carefully crafted snow-chair, which collapses with a _fwump_.

"Sirius! Sirius, mate! I'm being attacked! Help me!" he cries out between snickers as the red-head attempts to pummel him into the ground. He manages to grab one of her fists, but the other one gets him in the stomach, winding him. He gasps, eyes wide. She notices and jumps back a little, looking shocked.

"Potter, are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, you were just being such an idiot; I mean, you're normally an idiot and an arrogant prat and full of yourself besides, and you really do deserve a good punch half the time, but I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, are you ok?" she babbles on as he tries to regain his breath. He groans.

"Merlin, Evans, that was one hell of a sucker-punch." He rolls onto his back and gazes up at the sky.

She buries her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she chants.

Now that he's got his air back, he looks at her and laughs. "Don't be. I deserved it."

She stops and looks up from her hands. "That doesn't make it right."

He pulls her down beside him by her arm, of which he somehow still has a hold. "Sure it does," he grins down at her, and she smiles tentatively back at him. "But if you want to make it up to me…" Hazel eyes glint wickedly behind his glasses.

She knows that look. She's spent three years knowing that look, and, more importantly, avoiding that look. That look meant trouble for whoever involved- usually her. She sits up and brushes herself off. "Whatever it is, Potter, the answer is no."

"Come on, Evans!" he whines, eyes pleading- he can never quite do the puppy-dog eye trick as well as Sirius. Seriously. "You haven't even heard what it is yet!"

"_No,_ Potter."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because it's against my principles to say yes to you."

"It's against your principles?"

"Yes."

"You said yes to me!"

"…oh, shut up, Potter."

She stands up to leave, but is suddenly pelted with a tremendous volley of snowballs. She looks frantically for cover, but there's nowhere to hide except behind James.

"AIEEE!" Sirius shouts from within the half-built igloo- which, he's discovered while they've been talking, is a very good fort for snowball-making and –fighting. "You'll never escape now, my pretties!"

"You wanna bet?" James bellows, and suddenly Lily finds her hand inextricably trapped in his as he plows through the snowball barrage.

"Potter!" she shouts, frustrated, as she tries to detach herself from him. He glances back at her, grinning, and gets pelted in the back of the head. He shakes his head to rid himself of the snow. She glares pointedly at their hands. "Do you _mind?_"

"Oh." He grins cheekily. "No, I really don't." And with that, he throws himself into the igloo, dragging her along. Sirius grabs her, then looks at her, confused.

"You're not James," he says.

"No, I'm not," she replies, slightly amused by his expression.

"Mind pointing me in the right direction?" He grins.

"Right here, you big- fluffy- monster!" James roars as he lunges at his friend's back. Tussling ensues, as the boys destroy the igloo Remus and Peter had spent half the morning on. Lily quietly sneaks behind them, unnoticed, then turns around and throws a few snowballs at the two for good measure. They break apart, screeching like cats at the feel of _wet coldcoldCOLD wet_, and see Lily at the base of the stairs, smiling.

"See ya, Sirius!" she waves, then disappears inside the castle. James looks at Sirius, slightly disappointed.

"How come she didn't say goodbye to me?" he whines, glasses askew.

Sirius chuckles. "It's got to be the hair, mate," he says, clapping James on the back. "Girls just go crazy for my hair. Don't know why, but whatever works." He shrugs. James frowns.

"But I'll never get my hair to look like yours."

"Duh. It's my hair. You don't get my kind of hair without being me."

"And she says _I'm_ full of myself…"

They laugh, then look around at the mess they've made of the igloo. James looks at Sirius and sighs. "When they come back, they're going to kill us…"

o.O.o

Lily stands outside the Gryffindor tower, getting more and more irritated at the two barricading the door, Quidditch helmets on their heads and armed with beater bats. "The password is _Qui audit adipiscitur_, now let me in, you idiots!"

"How do we know you're not the snowbeast?" Remus' voice is muffled through the door.

"Because we've lived in the same house for three years! You know me, Remus! We sit in Herbology together! Your best mate's mission in life is to make my life miserable! Now, open the door!" She shouts. There's silence on the other side.

Then, "She sounds as angry as a snowbeast would be." Peter pipes up.

"How do you know how angry a snowbeast would be?"

"Well, they're a snowbeast. They've got to be cold. And when I'm cold too long, I always get really annoyed."

"That's true…"

"_WILL YOU OPEN THE DAMN DOOR?"_ She explodes.

"_NO!"_ They shout back, just as vehemently at her. She sighs and sits back against the wall. She's still sitting there, along with half of Gryffindor house, when James and Sirius come in.

"What's up?" James smiles at the clearly frustrated group.

"_Your friends-_" "Snowbeast-" "Stupid gits-" "Snowbeast!" "Locked us out-" "_Snowbeast!"_ "Need to study-" "_SNOWBEAST!" _"Exams!"

James strides up to the painting. "Remus? Pete?" he calls.

"…yeah?" Two voices answer warily.

"Mind explaining to me what you're doing with half of Gryffindor house ready to murder you?"

"There's a snowbeast!" Peter shouts.

"In Gryffindor tower?"

"…no…"

"Then let us in."

"But what if-"

"_Now_, you wankers!"

"One second, one second…" Strange scufflings and bangings are heard, as furniture is pushed away from the portrait. The portrait door swings open to reveal two glaring Third Years, helmets firmly fastened and beater bats at the ready. The Gryffindors halt their mad stampede for the portrait hole and stare, open-mouthed, then burst into gut-wrenching laughter.

"Come on, Remus, Pete", Sirius chuckles, draping one arm over each of their shoulders as the rest of the hall pours in through the portrait-hole, still laughing. "Forget the snowbeast- let's go search for your dignity."

o.O.o

_-You guys! I am so very sorry for leaving you for so long- will you ever forgive me? I promise I will work on the chapter stories tomorrow. It's just... college. *sigh* If I could write all day, I would, but I can't. Seriously, this is a complete bummer. But anyways, in case you hadn't noticed, this is from Lily and James' third year. More a friendship piece than anything, but I thought it was cute. I do not like writing in present-tense, so it was interesting for me. Oh, and btw, I own nothing. Still. You'd think, with it being so near Christmas and all, my college would give me my soul back- just to visit and pretend it's mine again- but no. Alas, I remain possessionless. Especially of that which belongs to JKR. Drat it all. Anyways, thank you so much for reading! Reviews are welcome. Really ridiculously welcome. I'd put out an electronic welcome mat for your reviews if I knew how._


	8. 7 Things

o.O.o

7 Things LE Hates About JP

1. His eyes. They're always darting towards her in class when he thinks she's not looking, always taunting her silently during their debates, always watching her when she eats, sleeps, studies, reads- it's creepy, frankly, how much his eyes are fastened on her in the course of the day.

2. His hair. If he so much as _touches _his hair one more time today, she swears she'll charm his head bald. Looked up the jinx in the library and everything- all that's left to do now is wait for the inevitable.

3. His attitude. The million-Galleon question- how can so much ego be contained in so little space?

4. His obsession with her. While it does make life interesting- he asks her out daily, and it's never the same, which, as it's going on three years, is saying something (about both his creativity and his sanity)-, at the same time, how is she ever supposed to get a date while being constantly asked out by Potter? Or when Potter's breathing down the necks of those guys who look at her a little too long for his liking? Oh, no, only the great Potter can stare creepily at Lily Evans. Joy of joys. She'll never have a relationship.

5. His intelligence. Lily is not a sore loser, but to have one area in which someone beats her consistently does not sit well with her. And does that one someone _have_ to be James Potter? He doesn't even try! He sleeps in class, or goofs off with his friends. Or watches her… She would've taken Peter beating her any day over Potter.

6. His ability to charm- well, anyone. Almost. Just last week, he got out of detention. From McGonagall, of all people! One smile, and they all swoon, teachers and students alike. If it didn't irritate her so much, she'd be impressed by his ability to win people over.

7. His… ability. She'd never admit it, nor can anyone tell (she thinks), but she puts up walls around herself. It's as much a part of who she is as her magic or her love of nature- her walls protect her, keep her from getting hurt. They're always up- even around her closest friends. Then Potter comes in- Potter with his stupid charm and his stupid smile and his stupid "look-at-me" arrogance- and smashes those walls to bits. Every time they argue, she forgets herself- forgets to protect herself- and in the heat of battle, he manages to smash through every single defense she has. And he realizes it, too, the bastard- he immediately gets that stupid half-grin on his face, and she realizes and has to scrabble to put up her defenses again. If it was only this reason, though, and none of the others, it'd be enough to hate him for the rest of her life. She has to. How can she protect herself otherwise?

o.O.o

7 Things JP Loves About LE

1. Her eyes. They're so _green_ and big and wide and pretty and did he mention green? They're the most perfect eyes he's ever seen, framed by the longest lashes he's ever seen (he tends to use a lot of superlatives when he describes his Lily, because she's the best and the most and the greatest anything. Of all time.). They display every flicker of emotion, every minute detail of what's going on behind that mask he hates so very much- not that she knows the secrets her eyes betray, because she'd have shut that down already if she knew. He's never going to tell her- he doesn't think he could bear seeing those eyes shut him out.

2. Her _hair_. It's red and tangly and swishy and it looks so soft and nice and warm and silky… He'd give anything to wrap his hands in it. And maybe pull her towards him and kiss her. Without her slapping him at the end or anything. And then they'd get married, and have kids, and grow old together and be happy… He's a dreamer, and he kind of likes where that dream's headed. But he really does love her hair.

3. Her attitude. She doesn't fall for anything he does- she's a challenge. He's not used to that- people normally fall at his feet. Not that he's big-headed about it or anything, it's just a matter of fact. Ok, so maybe he is a little big-headed about it… But who can help that?

4. Her quirks. She's never doing what he expects- of course, she's normally studying, but he'll find her up a tree or in the astronomy tower or in the owlery… She has random, big ideas that sometimes seem a little crazy, but they always have logical backing. She'll go on rants- quite frequently, really- and she never really shows many of her quirks to other people- mostly him. She never really explains about her quirks, either- they normally get into an argument about something stupid, and he forgets about the question til later. Actually, she does that with almost any personal question he's asked her- could there be a pattern?

5. Her intelligence. She's smart- not just book-smart, though she's beating him in every class but Transfiguration- and she's wickedly sharp with her tongue, too. Debating her is the most fun out of anyone he's ever met. She has opinions on things that matter- not stupid girl stuff like what new perfume is the best, but on politics, language, the intricacies of the Ministry of Magic, the effect of arts on schooling and the like. She's not afraid to voice her opinions, either. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if she became the Minister of Magic one day.

6. Her charm. Without managing to, she's charmed every single teacher in the Hogwarts administration, even the ones with whom she hasn't had classes yet- he's not quite sure how she did that. The younger students all look up to her as a goddess of kindness, the older students dote on her like they would a little sister, and, well, maybe sometimes she's a little too charming for her own good, he scowls, remembering the incident earlier today. He had to suggest to some nauseating little blighter that staring was impolite. And possibly, just possibly, he hexed the toerag all the way up to the infirmary, where he stayed, green warts on his face and still unable to control his legs. Or his belching. No one is allowed to stare at his Lily.

7. Her true self. Occasionally, when they're fighting, he'll break through her walls, just for an instant, and see the person within. It's only for an instant, and right after, she's snarling in his face again, but for that instant, he sees who she truly is- no masks, no walls, nothing between them. In that instant, they are equals, and in that instant, he knows that the person behind the walls is far more beautiful than anything he's ever seen. One day, he knows, she'll let him through those walls of her own volition. But for now, he's content with breaking them down every so often, glimpsing the beauty inside, and letting her know that he loves her. All of her. The eyes, the charm, the intelligence, the walls, everything. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to win her.

o.O.o

_A/N: Hey, you guys! So, guess what. Half an hour before I was to leave on a nine-hour drive, seven short stories popped into my head. Seven. It was pure evil on the behalf of my Muse. So I jotted down a few memory words, and decided I would write them later- preferably when I was NOT about to drive nine hours. Anyways, this is one of them, and I hope you like it! It was a lot of fun writing- I loved making the parallels. They're such fun, Lily and James are. (James is such a freaking sweetheart underneath it all! Geez.) As usual, I own nothing Potter-verse-wise. JKR owns all. Wish though I might, I'm guessing I'll never be her. Drat. Reviews are always ridiculously appreciated! Until we meet again!_


	9. Pretty

He's the first to call her pretty.

Oh, she's been called many things before- "exceedingly smart", "wise beyond her years", "sweet", "ginger", "unfailingly kind". She knows how to accept all of them (except for the last one- it doesn't seem to apply to her, not with the way she treats Potter- although, she adds, most of those were justified). But pretty? How does one accept "pretty"?

It wouldn't be so bad if it were one or two times, either, but it's not. He won't stop. Every time she thinks she's alone, he'll materialize from behind some dark corner, an assassin of all that is peaceful in her life. "Alright, pretty Lily?" "How's my pretty Lily-flower doing today?" "Where you going, pretty Lily? How about going out with me?"

She knows she's not pretty; she's far from it. She looks at the other girls in her year sometimes, comparing them to her. She fails in nearly every area- hair too wild and big and blindingly vibrant (sometimes she thinks carrying a neon sign stating, "This is Lily Evans" would be less noticeable than her hair), no curves to speak of, freckles all over her complexion (it was white at one point, she knows, but she's beginning to think it's been stained red from blushing out of anger or embarrassment whenever Potter's around), face totally asymmetrical, knobby knees, bony wrists… No, she concludes, there's no way anyone, even one as mentally challenged as Potter, could see her as pretty.

o.O.o

It hurts her, to think that the first boy to call her pretty is making a joke of it. Really, Lily isn't the type to be bothered by these things; at least, that's what she tells herself. She's hurrying through the hallways, late for her next class, when the inevitable, "Hey, pretty Lily!" attacks her from her left. She grits her teeth and walks faster.

"Not now, Potter," she snaps.

"What's wrong with now, pretty Lily? I kinda like now." He lounges against the door to her classroom, seemingly without a care in the world, and smirks down at her.

She rolls her eyes. One thing you have to give him, some part in the back of her mind admits grudgingly, is his persistence. However, the majority of her mind is in favor of focusing on more important matters at hand- namely, the closed door Potter happens to be lounging on. "Out of my way, Potter." She glares at him.

"Not until you agree to go out with me, pretty Lily."

She raises her wand, and he mimics her action. "Just how good of a shot are you again, my pretty Flower? Last time, you missed by quite a bit- hit a poor little first year." He chuckles.

"Lucky for you," she hisses (really, she swears, this type of attitude is not normal for her. Potter just happens to be that particular blend of stupid and evil that gets under her skin like nothing else.), "I've been practicing."

"I can help you, you know. Quidditch team and all that- I'm pretty good with aiming, or so I've been told, pretty Lily." His eyes gleam as he says it, that hated word. She wishes, not for the first time, that she knew the words that would strike him as hard as his have struck her. Something must have flickered through her eyes; he changes, shifts positions, halts his attack. "Something wrong, pretty Lily?"

"Nothing," she mutters, eyes on the floor. She feels him coming closer, hears the steps, steady, firm, one after another on the cold stone floor. The sound halts; she sees, barely an inch from her Mary-Jane patent leathers, the tips of his humongous black loafers (she's called them boats before, with good reason).

"Pretty Lily," she feels his finger under her chin, an unspoken request to lift her head. She struggles against the slight pressure, refusing to look up; he sighs. "What's wrong, pretty Flower?" He tries a playful tone. She feels his eyes on her like hot stagelights, sweeping across her face, searching for clues. He's much too close, she decides suddenly, and pushes him away.

"Does it really work on all the other girls, Potter?" She tries to squeeze past him.

"Does what really work?" He echoes, grabbing her hand out of reflex and tilting his head in confusion; his glasses are dangerously close to falling off his face (not that she notices).

"Calling them "pretty". I mean, one compliment and, bam! They're eating out of the palm of your hand. I'm not surprised; even you could do better than the ones you choose, Potter. You've got to set yourself some sort of standard." She knows she's babbling, but at this point, it's about distraction. She knows the quickest way to ensure Potter doesn't think about anything she doesn't want him to think about (in this case, the word "pretty") is to distract or insult him, and babbling is normally the best-

"You don't like when I call you pretty?"

Well, it was worth a shot, she concludes and squares her shoulders to face him. "No, Potter, I don't. Most people don't like being mocked."

"Mocked?" He's got the makings of a fine parrot, she thinks amusedly as he gapes at her. "You think I'm mocking you?" Ok, so the parrot thing is maybe a no-go; a cockatoo? A peacock! She'd bet her month's allowance that Potter's patronus is a peacock. A little belatedly, she realizes that Potter had been talking for some time (she has no idea on what, but she's not guessing peacocks), and is now staring at her, waiting for some sort of answer.

"…yes?" She guesses. He groans.

"Lily! How could you… Where on earth… What in Merlin's name…" He starts these, and many other questions, but Lily is late for class and has had enough. While he's talking (again- does he ever stop?), she slips past him and through the door.

"See you later, Potter!" She smiles cheerily and waggles her fingers at him before shutting the door in his face.

o.O.o

When she returns to her dorm that night, there's a small box on her bed. She unties the note clipped to the top of it first- _I'm sorry_, it proclaims in Potter's messy scrawl. She turns it over. It's been crossed out several times, the letters bunched together, but she can make out the words, _I meant it every time_. She places the parchment on the bed and opens the box. A silver pendant of a stag floats out of the box and settles itself around her neck. She raises her eyebrows, impressed at the preciseness of the charmwork involved. She reaches back to unclasp the necklace (of course she can't keep it, it's far too expensive), but the clasp is gone. She narrows her eyes at her reflection in the mirror.

"_POTTER_!" She shouts. The walls in that section of the castle tremble; the Gryffindors in the tower flee towards the portrait-hole; James Potter grins and prepares for the ensuing battle.

o.O.o

_A/N: Hey, guys! So sorry to have been gone for so long- it's been quite an insane month. But no matter- I'll be back more frequently now! As usual, nothing belongs to me, at least in Potter-verse. Hope y'all enjoyed!_


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